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Thursday, April 15, 2010

"What's for dinner!" Trevor exclaimed rather than asked as he bounded through the door.

While crisping some prosciutto, I replied, "Grilled flank steak, baked potatoes, and peas."

"I love baked potatoes, but not peas," he volleyed.

"Well you have to eat some," I told him. "Like Lennon said, 'All I am saying, is give peas a chance.' "

He asked, "Who is Lennon?"

Sigh.

Warm weather is sweeping the country. That sound you hear is grills being opened and fired up for the "grilling season"!I realize that most of my readers are casual outdoor cookers. I get it. I know that most people...

aren't going to cook outdoors when it is snowing or there are sub-freezing temps

like grilling just for fun and don't want to be stressed out by spending hours brining/marinating meats or perfecting a dry rub.

don't want to buy a specialty rub or sauce from an online vendor that will double the cost of the product because of the shipping costs.

And do you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. There are some easy, store bought options for you.

I was given a sample of McCormick's 2010 Grill Mates product line to test out. Yes, it was free, but I never promise a review for any samples accepted and I only review the ones I like. This is one that I like.

Tonight I used their Brown Sugar Marinade for a flank steak. Yeah, I know, when you read "marinade" you think that it will take hours and rule it out for a quick dinner tonight. But that's one of the things I like about the Grill Mates line, they are quick marinades. This one can be done in as little as 15 minutes.

It was as easy as mixing the dry packet with 2 Tbsp of vinegar, 2 Tbsp of water, and 1/4 cup of oil. I scored a flank steak (cutting 1/8th inch criss crosses) and put it in a zip lock bag. After 30 minutes, I threw it on a grill preheated to 450f.One of their tag lines is "flavor you can see" and in the picture above, it's evident. I didn't add anything to this mix, it was only their product prepared as described.I cooked the flank steak for 3 minutes per side. I brushed it with 2 Tbsp of the marinade mixture (reserved before adding the meat) and then cooked 1 minute more per side.

I let it rest for 15 minutes and then sliced it thinly across the grain for a perfect medium rare flank steak.

Although I have trusted McCormick's spices for years, I was surprised at how much I liked a pre-mixed marinade like this. It got approval from the two boys (21 and 10) as well as both of us. And the great thing about it is you can buy it in the stores at a reasonable price.

The peas were a nice and easy side dish that went beautifully with the grilled steak.Peas with Prosciutto source: Nibble Me This

Crisp the prosciutto over medium heat in a sauce pan and remove to cooling rack or paper towel lined plate.

Add the onion (I used the Vidalia variety) and cook about 5 minutes. Add the peas, water, and butter, cover and cook for another 5 - 8 minutes until the peas are at the texture you like. Season with black pepper to taste.

Garnish with the crisped prosciutto.Hey, guess what. The weekend is almost here. Are you breaking out your grill this weekend?

My dad is a grill-in-the-snow kind of guy but not a marinade for hours kind of guy. I'm going to have to introduce him to these marinades. So that he can grill something with them during the next blizzard. They actually sound quite tasty.

Whoa, back up! Did you say Vidalia's??? We don't get those in Denver until the first of June. We have some other options for sweet onions year round, but I go wild when we finally get those delicious Vidalia onions. You just can't beat them. I'll have to give the marinade a try. I love that scoring method for flank steak.

Beautiful post, Chris, makes my mouth water and my tummy growl. (and since it's almost dinner time, I'm trying to figure out how to get me some of that) We finally got our sunshine back and I'm ready for gardening & grilling!

Very likely since I have two pretty ribeyes waiting for it!! And darn it, I passed on a piece of flank because I never know what to do with it to make it right. Kinda hard when The Cajun wants his meat like hockey-puck-well-done grrr... I've converted him to more of a medium at least, but any red gives him the heebies.

I've been a fan of McCormick's seasonings for years too - don't think I've tried their marinades though. Got a few of those GrillMates in the pantry though! :)

I love the picture with the flames dancing on the flank steak! I haven't had flank steak in a couple of years. I've never really had good luck with it, but you have persuaded me to give it another go. I'm pretty sure I would like the brown sugar marinade as well. And, the peas with prosciutto.....definitely great!